Train-stop and signaling system.



H. G. SEDGWICK.

TRAIN STOP AND SIGNALING SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED NOV.23. 1912. RENEWEDOCT. 9.1916.

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H. G. SEDGWICK. TRAIN STOP AND S!GNALING SYSTEM. APPLlCATlON FILEDNOV.23, 1912. RENEWED OCT. 9. 1.9!6.

L2%,5& Patented May 8,1917.

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H. G. SEDGWlCK. TRARN STOP AND SIGNALING SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED NOV23, K912 RENEWED OCT. 9,1916- Patented May 8, 1917.

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HIBAIVI G. SEDGWICK, OF MILL VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO THENATIONAL SAFETY APPLIANCE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

TRAIN-STOP AND SIGNALING SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 19117.

Application filed November 23, 1912, Serial No. 733,162. Renewed October9, 1916. Serial No. 124,683.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM G. Snocwiex, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Mill Valley, county of Marin, State of California,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Train-Stop andSignaling Systems, of which the following is a full and clearspecification, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, inWl11Cl1- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a portion of a steamlocomotive showing my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 an elevation of a portion of a locomotive truck showing the partsof my ap paratus carried thereby, a part of the frame of my apparatusbeing shown in vertical section and the view being taken lookingrearwardly Fig. 2 a rear elevation of the apparatus mounted on the truckand the adjacent parts mounted on the under side of the railway vehiclebody.

Fig. 3 a detailed vertical section of the valve box and circuit closer;

Fig. 4c a horizontal sectional view through the top of the armature box;

Fig. 5 a vertical longitudinal sectional view thereof;

Fig. 6 a detail verticallongitudinal section of the armature box showingone of the armatures in the act of opening a vent valve;

Fig. 7 a transverse vertical sectional view of the armature box;

Figs. 8 and 9 detail views showing the manner of supporting thearmature-box carrying frame upon one of the axles of the locomotive Fig.10 a vertical sectional View showing a modified form of the valve boxand circuit closer;

Fig. 11 an end view of the cylinder shown in Fig. 10; and

Fig. 12 a diagram of a lamp circuit adapted to my present invention.

The object of this invention is to provide simple automatic mechanism onthe locomotive or other vehicle which will cooperate with road beddevices to produce in the cab a series of control signals or cause anautomatic application of the brakes when the road bed devices areproperly set. Several of the features of my invention are adaptedespecially for cooperation with an electromagnet on the road bed throughwhose mag netic field certain armatures on the vehicle )ass as the trainmoves past the magnet, the movement of the armatures being suitablytranslated into signals or train stopping action, while certain otherparts of the invention are adapted to be used in connection with anytype or system of road bed appliances, as more fully hereinafter setforth.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, l designates a pair of barsattached at their forward ends to the under side of the truck frame ofthe tender or locomotive and extending rearwardly therefrom, theattaching devices being such as to permit these bars to have a slightpivotal motion up and down. These bars extend rearwardly and are rigidlyconnected at their rear ends by a cross bar 2. Attached to this crossbar is a yoke-like hanger 3 which surrounds the axle and serves tosuspend the rear end of "the frame from the axle, suitable anti-frictiondevices 4 being mounted within the upper part of the yoke and adapted torest upon the axle. To prevent the frame rebounding upwardly a stop 5 isattached to the arms of the yoke just below the axle.

Rigidly attached to the bar 2, one at either side of the center of thevehicle, is a pair of shoes 6 each of which has its front as well asrear side beveled upwardly so as to more readily pass over obstacles onthe road bed. These shoes depend close to the road bed and are providedwith a box or frame 7 whose top side is closed but whose bottom side isopen. This box is set up into the shoe so as to be guarded by thebeveled or runner-like forward and rearward projections of the shoe. Ineach shoe is arranged a series of four armatures 8, these armaturesbeing normally drawn up into the box by means of springs 9. Eacharmature is preferably T-shaped in cross section, the web portionextending up between the series of separated horizontal bars 10 rigidlymounted within the box. The flanges at the lower edge of each armatureserve as stops to pre vent the spring drawing the armature up beyond thebars 10. The springs 9 are inclined forwardly so as to tend not only todraw the armature up but to pull them forwardly against the forwardsides of the box. The bars 10 are so located that when the armatures aredrawn up against their under sides, they will be bodily above the lower110 edge of the box, so as to be out of the way of injury by contactwith obstacles on the road bed. The box 7 is preferably of somenonmagnetic material. At the rear end of each armature it is providedwith a nose-piece 11 at its lower edge which is virtually an extensionof the flanges at the lower edge of the armature. Fastened to the rearwall of the box is a series of vent valves 12, the stems of whose valvesnormally project into the box, this normal position of the valves beingcaused by fluid pressure conveyed to the valves by a series ofindependent pipes 13. There is one of these valves for each of thearmatures and each of the pipes 18 extends upwardly and is connectedwith mechanism hereinafter described whereby when the vent valve 12 isopened airwill be exhausted from its connecting pipe 13 and thus cause asignal or a train stopping device on the locomotive to be put intoaction, as more fully hereinafter set forth. It will be observed thatwhen one of the armatures passes through the magnetic field of a roadbed magnet, the armature will be pulled down out of the box against theaction of its spring 9 far enough to bring its nose 11 be low the loweredge of the box, whereupon the drag on the armature will forcibly throwit backwardly and cause the end of the armature to strike the stem ofthe vent valve and thus force the same to an open position, thus ventingits pipe 18. After the armature is passed beyond the influence of theroad bed magnet its inclined spring 9 will promptly pull it forwardlyand upwardly and thus return it to its normal position within the box,whereupon the vent valve will again be seated by the pressure from pipe13.

It will be observed that by arranging the armatures up above the loweredge of the box they are not only protected from bstacles on the roadbed but they are prevented from accidentally or prematurely actuatingthe vent valves, the projections 11 serving to hold the armatures awayfrom the valve stems until they are drawn downwardly out of the box farenough to permit the armatures to move endwise in a direction rcarwardlywith respect to the move ment of the train. It is intended that thesearmatures will cooperate with a series of road magnets staggered alongthe road bed,

' each armature being adapted to cooperate with a magnet located at acertain distance from the center of the road bed and with no othermagnet.

It will be understood also that one of the set of armatures is intendedto operate with road bed magnets which are arranged to control trainsgoing in one direction only while the other set of armatures is adaptedto cooperate with road bed magnets set so I as to control trains goingin the opposite direction, so that each locomotive provided with myinvention will be subject to the road bed controlling system whether thecomotive be going forwardly or b-ackwardly. Of course the set ofarmatures that is on the 7 left hand side of the locomotive will bearranged to operate in a direction reverse to that of the set on theother side of the center of the locomotive. It will be observed that afeature of importance lies in the manner of carrying the armature boxeson a frame which is swung from one of the locomotive axles, wherebygreat accuracy may be obtained in the matter of arranging the armatureswith respect to the poles of the road bed magnets, it being obviouslydesirable to not only bring the armatures as close as practicable to thepoles of the magnets but to also prevent the jarring of the train frommoving them out of their predetermined line of travel. As it is wellknown that the axles of the locomotive have but a very slight verticalmovement even on the roughest road bed, it will be seen that by hangingthe armature box from one of the axles I secure a high degree ofaccuracy and steadiness.

One of the pipes 13 from each of thearmature groups, preferably the onenearest the center of the vehicle, is connected to a suitable trainbrake setting valve A, as shown in Fig. 1, so that when the innermostarmature of either of the groups is actuated the brakes will be appliedby the venting of the train pipe in a well known manner. There will beassociated with these brake applying armatures, suitable road bedmagnets which will operate with these armatures and no others and asboth the train stopping vents are connected to the stopping valve A, thetrain will be stopped when either one of these armatures is actuated.

The remaining three tubes 13 of each group of armatures are carriedupwardly and respectively connect to the ends of two -i groups oftubular chambers 14, which are closed at their ends and are supported byand extend through an air chest 15, which chest is kept constantly incommunication with the main air reservoir 16 by a pipe 17, so that theinterior of the chest is at all times under the same pressure as thereservoir. The interior of each tube is in communication with theinterior of the chest by openings 18 in the tubes. In each tube isaffixed a pair of oppositely facing valve seats 19 and 20 and adapted toalternately seat against these seats is a pair of valves 21 and 22,these valves being connected by a stem 23. The stem is of such lengththat only one valve at a time can be seated. Both ends of the tubes 14project beyond the sides of the air chest 15, and at the ends oppositethe ends connected to the tubes 13 I mount suitable whistles 24 andsignal lamp terminals which are adapted to be closed by a contact block26, attached to the adjacent valve 21. One of the lamp terminals isgrounded and the other is carried up into the locomotive cab.

It will be observed that when one of the tubes 13 is exnausted by thevent valve 12, the air beyond the valve will be exhausted or reduced inpressure, whereupon said valve 22 will be instantly closed. 'lhisclosingof valve 22 will open valve 21, in view of the fact that valve 22 andthe passage that it controls are larger than the valve 21 and itspassage, this difference in area causing a differential pressure on thevalves in favor of valve 22. The opening of valve 21 will not onlypermit air to escape into the whistle end of the tube and thus sound thewhistle but will cause the contactblock 26 to (lose the circuit betweenthe lamp terminals and thus light that one of the lamps in the cab whichis associated with the particu lar lamp terminals which have beenconnected. It is intended that each one of the tubes 1e shall beprovided with a whistle and that the whistles of each group shall beconstructed as to give different sounds. The lamps in the locomotive cabwill be different in color to indicate the different signals, safety,caution and danger.

After one of the signal devices has been thus operated, the parts may beres ored to normal by pushing the valve 2 away from its seat far enoughto seat the valve 21, this being desirably done by letting air into theends of the tubes 1d from the main reservoir 16 to thus bring thepressure in the end of the tube to an equilibrium with the pressureinside of the valve 22. To thus convey a pressure from the reservoir 16I connect up each of the cylinders 14 with the reservoir by means ofpipes 27 and place thu-ein a small valve 28 which the engineer may openwhenever he desires to restore the valves normal.

The signal lamps 29 are arranged in the cab in two groups of three each,one group being arranged at the forward part of the cab and the otherbeing arranged at the rear part of the cab so that no matter in whichdirection the locomotive is moving the engineer will face one set or theother of these signal lamps. One set of lamps is connected up with onegroup of terminals 25 and the other set of lamps is connected up to theother group of terminals, so that when the engine is running forward thefront set of lamps will be subject to actuation, this front group beingconnected up through the appropriate set of terminals 25 with the groupof corresponding armatures at the righthand side of the vehicle; theother or rear group of lamps is connected up to the other set ofterminals and is therefore sub ect to a ctuation only by the armatureson the left hand side of the locomotive, these armature-3 being in suchposition that they can only be actuated when the locomotive backing, inwhich event the engineer will be facing said rear set of lamps. Thisdouble set of signal lamps is a very important feature of my inventionsince it keeps the appropriate of signals immediately in front of theengineer no matter in which direction the locomotive may be traveling,thus enabling the engineer to see the signals without taking his eye;off the track ahead.

Any suitable lamp wiring may be com ployed as is evident, one simplearrange ment being illustrated diagrannnatically in Fig. 12. It will beobserved also that many changes in the details of construction may bemade without departing from my invention. I illustrate in Fig. 10 one1no tliiication of the valve device for pneumatically closing the lampcircuits and sounding an audible signal. This modification embodies acylinder 30 which is bolted against one side of the air chest 15 and hasits outer end connected by a port 31 with the vent pipe 13, this portextending, for convenience, through a tube 32 connecting the walls thechest 15. A piston 33 works in the cyl inder 30, and from one side ofthis piston projects a stem 34 whose outer end is attached to a smallerpiston 35 which works in a cylinder 36 partly closing the end of thecylinder 30. W] hen piston 35 is at the outer extremity of its stroke itcloses the lamp circuit between the two terminals 25 affixed to the endof the said cylinder Projecting from the opposite side of the piston 33is a rod or stem 37 larger in area than the rod 34, and this rod 37 hasits other end connected to a piston 38, which latter piston works in theforward end of cylinder 30, which part of the cylinder is of smallerbore so to lit this smaller piston. Any air that may accumulate betweenthe piston 38 and the air chest 15 may escape through the lateral ports39. Cylinder ports 40 and 1- open into cylinder 30 on opposite sides ofthe piston 33 when the same in normal position (which position is shownin Fig. 10), and these two ports to and t1 are connected by a commonport 42 to the interior of the air chest 15. When the piston 33 is inits normal position it closes the whistle port 43, which like port 31extends through the air chest. The piston 33 is held a in its normalposition by reason of a differential pressure on its opposite sides, thepredominance of pressure being on the outer side, that is, the sideconnected to stem 34,.

The instant the pressure is reduced in front of piston 33 by the ventingof port 31, the predominance of pressure shifts to the inner side of thepiston and this causes the piston to quickly move at least far enough tocover port 40 and to uncover port 43, whereupon the whistle will besounded and the pressure behind the piston 83 will cause it to move moreor less slowly far enough to close the circuit between contacts 25. Thespeed of movement of the piston 33 can be governed to a nicety byproperly proportioning the various ports, as is obvious. To restore thepiston 33 and its attached parts to normal it is simply necessary topush in the piston 35, which may be done in any suitable manner but ispreferably done by means of a suitable fluid pressure ram, a part ofwhich. is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 10, at 35, and which may beoperated from the air reservoir or by steam from the locomotive boileror in any other manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with a railway vehicle, two sets of armatures carriedthereby, one set being arranged at each side of the center of thevehicle, two groups of train control devices, means operated by one setof armatures while the train is going in one direction to actuate thedevices of one group and means operated by the other set when the trainis going in the opposite direction to actuate the devices of the othergroup and means to oierate each armature independently of all the otherarmatures.

2. In combination with a railway vehicle, train control devices thereonembodying a non-magnetic armature box having its lower side open, anarmature and means for normally drawing it upwardly and forwardly intothe box, a positive abutment being provided at the rea" end of thearmature for preventing it actuating the train control de vices while innormal position, and means whereby the armature will actuate the traincontrol devices when it is drawn downwardly and rearwardly out ofabutting relation.

3. In combination with a railway vehicle, train control devices thereon,an armature box horizontally supported, a series of separated horizontalbars in said box, a series of bar armatures flanged at their lower edgesand having their web portions extending up between said bars, springsfor normally drawing these armatures upwardly, and means whereby wheneach armature is pulled downwardly against the action of its spring itwill cause an independent actuation of one of the train control devices.

a. In combination with a railway vehicle,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for two sets of visual signals,one set being mounted forward of the engineers usual po sition in thevehicle and the other set being located at the rear thereof, andconstantly operable means for actuating the forward set when the vehicleis moving forwardly and the rear set when the vehicle is movingrearwardly said means embodying devices whereby each set operates whollyindepend ent of the devices for actuating the other set.

5. In combination with a railway vehicle, two sets of visual signals,one set being in front of the engineers position and the other set beingat the rear thereof, and means on the vehicle adapted to coiiperate withroad bed devices whereby either set of signals will be actuatedaccording to the direction of movement of the vehicle, said means beingconstantly operable.

6. In combination with a railway vehicle, a series of signal lamps andcircuits therefor, an independent fluid pressure circuit closer for eachlamp circuit, and devices adapted to cooperate with the road bedactuating means for independently actuating said circuit closers, andmanually controllable fluid pressure means for restoring said circuitclosers to normal or inactive positions.

7. In combination with a railway vehicle, a series of visual. signals inthe cab of the vehicle, a series of fluid pressure differentiallyoperated devices for independently actuating said signals said devicesembodying means for normally holding them inoperative, venting tubesconnected thereto, and an independent device for venting each of saidtubes, these independent devices being arranged to cooperate with roadbed devices.

8. In combination with a railway vehicle, a series of signal lamps andcircuits therefor, an independent fluid-pressure circuit-closer for eachlamp circuit, a common source of fluid pressure for all said circuitclosers, and a series of independent venting devices for said circuitclosers, the circuit closers being normally held out of action by fluidpressure whereby the venting of any one of them will cause it to closeits circuit.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

HIRAM G. SEDGVVICK.

WVitnesses:

C. D. DAvIs, CrrAnLns LOWELL HOWARD.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

